Switching Gears
by Katalystik
Summary: Losing Luffy wasn't something anyone was prepared for, nor was it anything the Going Merry crew was willing to let happen. Bonds are strengthened and loyalty tested as the search for a mystery cure begins. Shounenai.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Switching Gears

Summary: Losing Luffy wasn't something anyone was prepared for., nor was it anything the Going Merry crew was willing to let happen. Bonds are strengthened and loyalty tested as the search for a mystery cure begins. Shounen-ai.

Pairings: LuZo, SanZo, SanUso main.

Rating: T

Chapter: 1/ ten, or so.

Disclaimer: I don't own OP, of course. More like Oda-sensei owns me. (laugh)

* * *

Author Comments: I'm definitely a bit rusty at writing, but after starting the Water 7 arc I had to write /something/. That and this fic, along with twenty others, is being written on a very competitive challenge. This chapter, to warn you, is mainly LuZo, to make me happy. Plot starts next chapter.

* * *

Night watch was Zoro's favorite watch, if only for the fact that no one was awake to make any noise why he slept. He gave a satisfied grunt and stretched, comfortable, against the wall of the kitchen, ears faintly picking up on the snores stretching their way from the sleeping quarters. He scratched absently at his stomach, a yawn unhinging his jaw. He offhandedly entertained the notion of slipping some of Sanji's dessert wine, but dropped it as he remembered the large, foot shaped bruise tattooed across his back from last time. Oh well. He yawned again, drooling a bit and wiping it off with his hand.

Footsteps.

Zoro's was always thankful for his ability to go from comatose to alert at the drop of a hat, as it probably saved him a lot of hell for falling asleep on nights like these when they were attacked by Marines or whatever decided to show up. His legs tensed, muscles bunching in preparation to spring, his hand falling to wrap around the hilt of a katana-

"Oi, Zoro!" Bright eyes scoped around the corner, straw-hat silhouette backlit by smooth, moonlit waves. "Heehee, calm down." Luffy ambled, shirtless and sleep-mussed, towards his first mate, smiling broadly.

Zoro relaxed fully, eyeing Luffy with mock resentment for making him waste precious energy. "You were five seconds away from being tomorrow's breakfast."

Luffy palmed his hat, other hand scratching at his head, hair flying every which way in the breeze. "That's stupid. Sanji wouldn't cook human." Luffy said, nose scrunching as he yawned. "Though we'd have a lot more meat if he did." He considered that notion and smiled, teeth gleaming white, sharp.

With a laugh, Zoro raised his eyes to his captain's face and felt his gaze lock up, like when he saw a particularly shiny, sharp object and couldn't look away for a moment. He blinked, Luffy's toned-down night face, more sober than his genki-genki day face, etched on the underside of his eyelids, sticking to him. He scratched awkwardly at his thigh, turning his gaze quickly towards the prow. "Why are you up so late, anyway? You should be tired, it was a long day." His voice was gentle and it struck him odd, so he coughed in a deep, manly manner to shake the weird mood.

Luffy patted the kitchen door fondly, toeing his foot in and out of his sandal. "I was tired!" He stated, obvious tone in his voice. "But I'm hungrier now, so I woke up to eat." He laughed, too loud for such a late hour. "I was even hungry in my dreams." He opened the kitchen door, looking expectantly at Zoro.

Zoro felt the silence fall heavy upon him, and he looked up at Luffy once again, bothered. "What?" Now he just wanted to go to sleep and forget the weird pitfall in his stomach that had formed with Luffy looking so... strangely inviting and sleep-soft, happy and touchable. He wanted to go to sleep and then wake up early and fend any remaining hormones away with a few hundred sets of cleansing weight lifts. But now Luffy was staring at him like that, and he felt himself go pliable to his captain's whims, just like that. "What do you want?" Damn.

"Sanji locked the refrigerator." Luffy said, super-serious and stomach growling. His arm extended, grasping for the switch to the kitchen light. He turned to Zoro, the warm, yellow light flooding across the deck, and there it was again, the weird hole in Zoro's stomach, eating away. "And now I can't get in it. I tried to break the chain, but I made too much noise and Sanji caught me." His tone turned pleading. "Please?"

Zoro was already standing up, arm sweeping to collect his swords. "Yeah, yeah." He grumbled, nudging Luffy into the kitchen, closing the door lightly behind them. The kitchen at night, without Sanji, seemed like a totally different entity from its bustling daytime counterpart. It was quiet and orderly, not a dish out of place, the entire room somehow still conveying the promise a hard kick to the head if anything were to out of order in the morning. It sent a prickle of goose bumps up Zoro's neck, not that he was afraid of that bastard cook or anything. He glanced towards the refrigerator, humming quietly in the corner. A thick chain was wound through the handles, a thick padlock hanging from it.

Luffy's stomach gave a loud roar at the prospect of food.

"Ah, sit over there," Zoro directed, gesturing at the table with his hand. He considered, briefly, picking the lock, but upon further consideration realized he hadn't the first clue as of how. With a shrug, he drew a katana and sliced it easily through the chain, wincing as it snaked to the floor with a series of loud thunks. He'd deal with Sanji's drama tomorrow.

Luffy laughed. "Thanks, Zoro. Make me a sandwich." He commanded easily, lounging against the kitchen table, licking his lips as Zoro opened the fridge.

"Make your own!" Zoro bristled, hand enclosing around a jar of mayo and tossing it to Luffy, followed by a loaf of bread and a few left-over hunks of roast. He scratched his head and returned to the fridge, looking for something to snack on. If he was up and in here, may as well eat. He turned to Luffy. "Hey, have any-" 'Bread left', his mind supplied, as he stopped his sentence short. Of course Luffy didn't have any bread left. He was /Luffy/. He sighed and turned back to rummage again.

"Hey!" Zoro turned to look at Luffy. Luffy smiled and offered something misshapen and smelling of meat towards his first mate, face beaming. The something was dripping mayonnaise and crumbs towards Sanji's pristine floor, smudging onto Luffy's fingers. "I made you a sandwich, too." Luffy looked immensely happy with either himself or with the fact that he had eaten meat within the last sixty seconds.

Zoro gaped, soundless, before raising a heavy hand to take the sandwich. He brought it back towards himself and stared at it long and hard, eyebrows knitted. After a while, he looked back towards Luffy, who was looking at him with great expectance shining in his eyes. "Aren't you hungry?" He managed, hand clenched around the food. For some reason, food from Luffy meant something to him, mainly because it was food from /Luffy/. Luffy didn't give food. He took, inhaled, demolished, and generally did all he could to consume the world's supply of food.

Luffy cocked his head. "I like food, Zoro." He stated in an obvious tone, bringing his legs up under him, perching on the bench. "But I like you more." He licked his palm, catching a stray glob of mayo.

Zoro took a huge bite out of the sandwich; face warming as he considered the smaller boy. "Aa." He uttered, smiling in a large, awkward manner. He leaned heavily against the counter and finished his snack off, aware of Luffy's wide-eyed stare on him. Without really thinking, he pushed himself off the counter, clomping over to where Luffy sat and slumping next to him. "Pretty scarce supplies, you know," He said slowly, staring at the refrigerator. "When do you think we'll hit land next?"

Luffy waved one of his legs out in front of him, watching it, then the other. "Robin said there was supposed to be a little island nearby, and Usopp saw seagulls today..." He replied, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand. "So I say soon!" His feet hit the floor solidly and he stood up, strolling to the counter to look out the small window. "I can't see it yet, though."

"It's too dark to see anything anyway, idiot." Zoro said in a fond way, hoisting himself from the table and stretching into an arch of tense muscle. His back gave a few satisfying pops and he gave a grunt of satisfaction. "Well," He said, reaching down to catch his swords with an open palm, glancing at Luffy's back. "I'm going back out." He made for the door and stopped, picking up the cut chain as an afterthought. 'Might as well get rid of the evidence.'

Zoro was followed out the door, the lights flickering out behind him and the door clicking shut. With a flick of his wrist and a subtle splash the chain was thrown overboard. He smiled, a tiny victory. "Are you going back to bed?" He questioned, not bothering to turn around, just looking out at the black waves, transfixed.

Luffy gave a keening, thoughtful noise. "Nah," He finally deliberated, standing besides Zoro, stance easy. Without another word, he flopped onto his back, arms spread wide. "Besides, it's comfortable out here."

Zoro eased backwards, joining Luffy on the deck. He discreetly watched the other boy out of the side of his eye, thinking lightly about what he had said in the kitchen. His palms began to itch so he rubbed them roughly on his legs, turning to look back at the ocean, dropping that train of thought. It was nothing, anyway. Just Luffy being Luffy. Luffy liked everyone.

Zoro chocked the pang in his stomach to hunger and laid down, Luffy's breath audible in his ears, faint but steady. He yawned, back to square one once again.

"Good night," Luffy's voice, not tired at all, in his ear.

Zoro waved his hand vaguely, already mostly asleep. "Night, Luffy."

Then he was asleep.

* * *

End Chapter One

Author: Yeah, that was lame, but I just wanted to set the scene a bit... Excuses excuses. Ha. I love me some ZoLu dumb luvin'. Anyway, next chapter Zoro and Sanji go on some crazy early morning trip with a little innuendo! Whoo! After that... the plot will thicken. And the gay too, most likely. Stay tuned!


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Switching Gears

Summary: Losing Luffy wasn't something anyone was prepared for., nor was it anything the Going Merry crew was willing to let happen. Bonds are strengthened and loyalty tested as the search for a mystery cure begins. Shounen-ai.

Pairings: LuZo, SanZo, SanUso main. LuSan, a bit, later. Whoo!

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I don't own OP, of course. More like Oda-sensei owns me. (laugh)

Chapter: 2!

* * *

Author Comments: This is where I try to force plot into this thing. Like some demented CPR.

* * *

"Oi," A rough shove. Zoro murmured something, a vague threat, and snored loudly.

Sanji pursed his lips into an unhappy frown and stood up, eyeing the swordsman with annoyance. "Hey," He tried again, this time allowing himself a sharp kick to the man's side, feeling a bit triumphant when Zoro blinked blearily. "Good morning, sunshine." His fingers itched for a cigarette; he shoved them into his pocket and tongued nervously at the corner of his mouth.

"Uh," Zoro said intelligently. His eyebrows knit together and his body creaked wearily as he shifted, struggling to sit up. "Whattya want?"

Sanji regarded him a moment, calmly, feeling quite bare in his pajamas. "I just took out some dumb-ass robbers. On your watch." He hid a shiver, eye trained on the dim, red morning sun stretched over the horizon as he rubbed at his arms.

"And?" Zoro was semi-awake now, leaning back on his arms and regarding Sanji with a scowl, hair spiked and matted every which way from his sleep. "No reason to wake me up." He muzzily smoothed his arm over his eyes, shirt riding past his ribs and goose bumps visible over the taut flash of his stomach. Sanji didn't stare, not long.

"And I need you to help me filch their supplies," Sanji sniped, face prickling, unshaved. "Their boat is moored to the side of ours. At the rate we're going, we won't have enough for a good breakfast." As an afterthought, his eyes slid across the deck, landing upon the prone form of his captain. "He slept out here?"

Zoro nodded, standing up. His previous sleepiness fell off of him like a blanket as the brisk morning wind hit him, and he took a second to paw at his shirt, pulling it down. "Where's the ship?"

Sanji yawned tiredly and proceeded to brush past Zoro, shuffling across deck. Zoro took notice of Sanji's trailing shoestrings; the shoes probably thrown off quickly in the heat of a fight, no time to tie them and felt a little disappointed it hadn't been his fight.

Sanji led him to where a ladder had been hastily and clumsily tied to the railing on the side of the ship. Zoro leaned over the railing, whistling at the scatter of still bodies piled neatly on the small ship below them. With a differential shrug, he lifted himself over the side and descended the ladder, Sanji close behind, both silent.

When Zoro set foot on the tiny boat, he instantly felt a little uneasy, the hairs on his neck standing up and his mind traveling to where his swords were- on the deck, next to Luffy. "Sure you took them all out?" He called, Sanji swinging into view and onto the ship in the corner of his vision. His fingers clenched, tense and he stared at the prone bodies Sanji had laid out. None of them moved, none of them breathed, yet something was still off.

Sanji kicked open a hatch on the deck, staring into the bleak darkness of the storage, frown deep and eyes serious. "Yeah. Didn't put of much a fight, any of them." He commented offhandedly, lowering himself down into the ship. Zoro stared at the pale hands clenching the sides of the hole, all that remained in sight of Sanji.

A loud, sickening cracking noise, and Zoro was at the hatch, staring down.

"Well, I thought I had gotten all of them," Sanji muttered, a body hitting the floor with a thump. He reached down and grabbed at a large sack of flour. "Catch," He warned, tossing it at Zoro's gawking face. He proceeded to ransack the meager supply of food the robber crew had kept, throwing it into a convenient sack. He began to hoist himself back onto deck, when Zoro held his hand up.

"You forgot something." He said, pointing.

Sanji turned around, edging the sack onto deck with his extra hand. "I don't see anything." He pulled himself up fully and unfolded himself, standing level with Zoro. He squinted into the meager sunlight lighting the hull. "I definitely don't see anything, moss-head."

Zoro gave a 'ch', stooping to look closer. He dropped ungracefully into the lower level, grunting as he hit the floor. Something small and round- his hand closed around it. He brought it up to the meager streams of light pouring in around Sanji's figure, which was craning above the hatch, nosy.

"Well, what is it?" The blonde questioned testily, shoeing at the bag of pilfered goods, eager to get back on the Going Merry.

Zoro shrugged. "I think it's a piece of fruit." He replied, sniffing at it and rolling it between his fingers. The fleshy skin reeked of sweetness and he grimaced and pulled it away from his face.

Sanji scowled down at him, meanwhile stooping down to shoulder the bag of flour. "Congratulations. You found a piece of fruit. Now pick up the rest of this shit and let's get back, okay?" He hurriedly boarded the ladder, eager to get off the little boat. Little did he want to admit, but dead bodied did creep him out a little, especially before his coffee. "God, I would kill for a smoke right now," He muttered, climbing slowly, weighed down.

From below, Zoro gave a grunt, holding the rope ladder steady for him. "It's not usual to see you without them," He remarked lowly, surprising Sanji a bit.

"Fell overboard," Sanji confided, making a grab for Merry's rail and jerking himself up with one arm, the flour making his movements awkward and jerky. "They fell overboard this morning, during the commotion, and it's been weeks since the last town... It was my last pack." His tone was mournful as he regarded Zoro's ascent up the ladder. His eyebrows furrowed. "You still got that fruit?"

Zoro pulled himself on deck with one long, strangely graceful movement, and cut the rope ladder with another. He pulled the fruit from his mouth, where he had held it while climbing. He regarded it for a minute, wiping juice absently from the teeth marks he had made. "I thought Luffy might eat it." He said distantly, frowning. "I mean, it's not much..." He strongly remembered Luffy giving him his sandwich, the way he looked spread out on the deck, content. A grin spread across his face.

Sanji looked concerned. "Oi, don't get sentimental." He snapped. "Luffy will eat anything. I doubt a measly piece of fruit will make a dent in that bottomless pit."

Zoro laughed. :"You would know." He pulled his arms behind his neck and worked his head one way, then the other, cracking it effectively. "Ah, it's almost sunrise." He noted, seriously, contemplating the lightening sky.

"Time to make breakfast," Sanji said offhandedly, heading his separate way from Zoro. "You owe me one, asshole."

Zoro shrugged and began his morning work out.

* * *

End Chapter Two

Author: Plot! It's appearing! Whoo! And I suppose I lied when I said there was gay about in this chapter. False advertisement, so sue me! Okay, so the real story starts next chapter. Haha, that Zoro. Always working out. What a man, what a man, what a man, what a mighty good man!


End file.
